


The Truth Will Out

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Series: Camellia sinensis [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blackmail, Coercion, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Sexual Abuse, Tony Stark is a dragon in his lair, Who runs on coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-02-10 12:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2025933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the Tea for Two series, the very important discussion between Steve and Tony. Set at some point after chapter 17, I guess? Discusses the nature of the relationship between Howard and Steve, and it wasn't a good one.</p><p>Trigger warning for non-graphic discussion of past sexual assault/blackmail</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Truth Will Out

Tony was in the workshop. It wasn't that he lived in the workshop, that would be stupid, he had hundreds of perfectly serviceable bedrooms in the tower, and had even gone so far as to pick one out for himself and get it decorated and furnished. He almost never slept there... or, he hadn't, until Steve came along, at least. Now he could invariably be found in one of three places in the small hours of the morning: in his bed, with Steve; in Steve's bed, with Steve; or in the workshop on his own, curled up on the couch which was falling apart but which had too much sentimental value ever to throw away no matter how many new ones he could afford, with a blanket which Dummy would clumsily pull over him.

He didn't spend all of his waking hours down there either, and in fact he spent fewer of those down there than he had at his peak times. Those, of course, being the depressive spells he had tried to engineer his way out of with inhuman amounts of booze and varying degrees of success. Or the times he had been hit by the spark of a phenomenal idea, but that happened far more often than anyone cared to notice, and so it was easiest to assume that a particularly driven spell was motivated by depression. There would inevitably be some great ideas in the process of it, though occasionally the application would get botched which was why they had nearly had a nuclear toaster to deal with. Pepper had never quite forgiven him for provoking armageddon simply because he was ridiculously hungover and incredibly hungry.

He attended more meetings these days than he had even when he had been the official CEO of Stark Industries, mostly because of what Pepper threatened to do to him if he didn't show up, but he also did a good job in terms of paying attention and almost behaving himself when he was there. That had mostly started happening since he had started dating Steve, but Pepper was taking what she could get, and it took some of the pressure off Rhodey too, since before the two of them had been the only ones who took any notice or care of their pet billionaire. It was depressing how good his public face could really be. 

Steve knew that Tony was in the workshop now though because 1. Not even Pepper would expect him at a meeting at 11 pm. The only way Pepper herself would be in a meeting now would be if she was on an overseas business trip, and Steve happened to know that she was eating dinner with Bruce in his set of rooms. He was glad for them both, they were a cute couple and some of his closest friends, and both of them deserved to be happy. It had been a good solution to their loneliness, quite ignoring the pitfalls of dating when you were either the Hulk or the CEO of the largest energy and arms company in the world. and 2. He had checked with Jarvis. Not that that was a foolproof method by any means, because it wasn't, but he had attempted to outline to Jarvis exactly why this was so important to him without actually going into details, and also because Jarvis tended not to mislead him about Tony's whereabouts. If Tony was avoiding him then Jarvis would pointedly refuse to confirm or deny where Tony was until Steve guessed the right place, but he wouldn't outright lie to him anymore. Steve guessed that that was about as close to a tacit sign of approval from the AI he was ever going to get, and he secretly wore it as a bit of a badge of pride, albeit one that only he and Jarvis were aware of.

He knocked on the door. His access codes gave him 24/7 access, and even during some of their worst fights it had never been revoked. He was kind of hoping that tonight wouldn't be the first time that changed, but no matter what happened, Tony still deserved to know, and he couldn't avoid it forever even if he wanted to. He would have said eventually, but Bucky coming back had opened the whole can of worms again and rather dropped him in it. Steve Rogers had never been one to back down from a challenge though, and he wasn't about to start now.

When Tony glanced up, grease stains on his face and a screwdriver behind his ear, Steve lifted the large mug of coffee he was holding in an indication of purpose and the fact that he had brought gifts. He tried not to dwell on the fact that interacting with Tony in the workshop was not a million miles away from a dragon in its lair. You had to bring something to placate the beast with in order to stand a chance in hell of achieving anything.

Tony's face split in a wide grin and he nodded, gesturing for Jarvis to turn the music down and open the door.

AC/DC was still pounding away, but it was a little more tolerable for Steve's enhanced hearing by the time he stepped through the door into the treasure filled cavern of mess which was Tony's safe place.

"Here, coffee."

"I love you. Have I mentioned that I love you?"

"Only a few times. I'm trying to pretend to myself that it isn't conditional upon those times I'm holding coffee, but that's only because I don't let Jarvis tell me what the statistics are. I don't think my ego could take it."

"You're being immensely unfair Rogers, you know I love you for more than your coffee-making abilities. For one thing you don't make the coffee, my coffee maker makes it and I made my coffee maker, ergo I make the coffee."

"That explains why it's always blacker than your soul."

"That's my descriptor and I'm not entirely sure I approve of you stealing it."

"Is it accurate?"

"Yes."

"No it isn't..." Steve laughed, and Tony took the cup in both hands, cradling it to his lips and draining what had to have been half of it in one long swallow. Steve could have sworn he felt the collar of his shirt tighten, and he ran a finger around it to loosen it. Tony had lost his gag reflex a long time ago. He said it was from college, and the amount of coffee he had drunk there. Steve had decided he didn't want to know the actual truth, if that wasn't it, and so he had left it at that.

"Alright, fine, though why you persist in this delusion that I have a soul is beyond me."

"It pleases me?"

"Well I guess that's reason enough."

"Besides, I know you don't just love me for the coffee, you love me for the sex too."

"Oh yes, the sex, definitely the sex. You are very very good at that."

Steve smiled at that, his eyes crinkling up at the corners in a way they only ever did when he was afraid. The smile was no less genuine for that, but it was a fairly big giveaway.

Tony sipped his coffee, watching Steve expectantly, eyebrows raised.

Steve mused for an adoring minute about how perfect Tony was like this, because he was, he really was. He was perfect with his hair wild where fingers covered in oil and engine grease and god knows what had been run through it, with grease stains on his face, highlighting the skin tones Steve loved to capture with his pencil, and his huge brown eyes just visible above the cup of coffee he was cradling as gently as if it were some wild creature. Still, even that couldn't take away from the real reason he was here, and he had dropped enough clues now that Tony's suspicion was up, and when Tony's suspicion was up he would never let it drop. So Steve resigned himself to having a conversation he had hoped would never happen.

"I uh... I wanted to talk to you."

"I guessed." 

"Oh come on it's not like I never bring you coffee."

"No, it isn't that at all, but it's really good, freshly made coffee, in my favourite mug and everything about your body language is screaming 'I am feeling guilty about something'. And I know what you good catholic boys are like about those silly little things you call consciences, so let's talk."

Steve swallowed. Tony was the perfect eccentric, an idiot savant at times, who had one of two modes as far as most people were concerned. He was either Tony Stark, the public figure with a comeback for everything who was a master at manipulating the media, or he was just Tony, the archetypal mad engineer who talked to his work and had it talk back, even if that conversation might just be indignant whirring on one end. That end wasn't always the same one, either. The times those two crossed over and he showed the people skills which belonged to his surname while dressed as Tony, acting like Tony, were very disconcerting. Especially when directed at you.

"Alright. I... I do have something I wanted to talk to you about, as a matter of fact."

"No shit Sherlock. Come on. Let's sit down. No Dummy, do not- Dummy! Now is not the time for you to be an attention whore. Leave the oil can where it is, it is there for a reason and Captain Rogers does not have time to spoil you now you persistent bucket of bolts. Go back to your charging station. And I swear to god if I see you going near the fabrication units one more time..."

Dummy whirred and wiggled his claw in a way which gave Steve the distinct impression he was flipping Tony off. He tried not to smile again. It had done a great job at breaking his own tension, but still, that didn't change the fact that he felt he was about to despoil Tony's one and only sanctuary with news which could destroy their entire relationship.

He moved to the sofa nevertheless, but where Tony sprawled, Steve perched uncomfortably on the edge, perpetually at attention.

"Go on baby..."

"I needed to speak to you," Steve repeated, and swallowed, trying to quell the nausea in his stomach, "About your father."

Suddenly the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a few degrees, and Tony's body language was nowhere near as receptive as it had been before.

"If you're going to try to tell me he was a great man and I got him all wrong then you can shove it, Steve. Really. I expect that from some people, but not from you."

"That's... not what I'm going to tell you."

"Are you going to tell me he was your boyfriend too?"

Tony was bolt upright now too, a fierce, wild glint in his eyes which was practically his battle signal. Steve felt something sharp pierce his heart, and he looked down, swallowing. That... wasn't it. But what if Tony took it that way? Either way he had to know, the little voice inside insisted. It wasn't fair to keep having this relationship and for him not to know, if it was something that would change his mind. Dealbreakers had to be out in the open, and the best way to deal with it was to confront it head on and in person. There was no way he could let Tony hear this from another person. That would just be wrong.

"No... Not... exactly..."

"Not exactly, Steve? That is not a not exactly question. That is a yes or no question. It is a closed question. You either were or you weren't, it's not that complicated."

"It can be."

"Alright, go on then, explain to me exactly how it can be that fucking complicated."

"Please just stop jumping down my throat for a second, okay? This is really hard. I never wanted to talk about this with anyone. I never wanted to tell you, but it isn't fair on you for you not to know and if you're going to hear it you deserve to hear it from me."

"Fine. Go on."

Tony gestured, it was imperious and it made Steve almost want to smack him. Did Tony seriously imagine this was easy for him? That he could possibly be putting himself, the both of them, through this for kicks when Tony was honestly the best thing that had ever happened to him? He took a deep breath, steadying himself. This was emotional enough without him letting anger get the better of him. That was one way of telling Tony was on the defensive. Angry people made mistakes, left cracks in their armour which Tony was an expert in exploiting, and so he had developed techniques to needle people and get them angry and off guard so he could swoop in for the kill.

"No, he was not my boyfriend, if by boyfriend you mean both parties were willing participants. I don't know why he did it, maybe it was just because he could. From what you've said, I think he did a lot of things just to prove that he could do them because he was the great Howard Stark. Well. Either way. He found out that Bucky and I were... close. And he threatened to tell if I didn't agree to sleep with him too. Bucky would have ended up in the stockade and I honestly don't know what would have happened to me. Bucky was my best friend, is my best friend, and he was... more than that. I owed him better than that. So I struck the deal. We only met a few times. I didn't want any of them, I was blackmailed into it, but the alternative was worse. It hurt. A lot, actually. It never hurt with Buck, it never hurts with you, but with him it hurt every time. I think he appreciated the fact that I healed. But I don't want to discuss the things like that. I just wanted to let you know that it had happened. I wanted to let you know what the relationship between me and your father was, and I wanted to let you make your own decision. That's really all I can say on the matter. So."

He swallowed, and looked back up at Tony, feeling like he was facing a firing squad. The man's face was unreadable, his eyes dark with anger, but Steve did not yet know where that was directed.

After a long moment, a long, long moment, Tony let out a harsh bark of laughter which was on the edge of insanity, throwing his head back.

Steve flinched, still waiting for his sentence.

"...Well, I always wanted proof I wasn't like him, and for so long all I found was evidence that went the other way. Thank you for finally, conclusively, proving to me that I am nothing like my father."

Steve blinked a few times, hardly able to believe it. He still wasn't sure exactly how this was going to go, but this was a better first sign than he had anticipated. He hadn't been thrown out yet, and that had to bode well.

Tony met his eyes again, and reached out, taking Steve's hand, his voice suddenly gentle.

"Hey... what, did you think I was going to be mad at you?"

"Well... Bucky was, and it wasn't his dad."

"Yeah, well he was probably pissed for the same reason I would be if you did the same thing now with someone who wasn't my dad. He loved you. Loves you. I love you too. And because we love you we don't want to see you get hurt, and that's what happened. He hurt you. He hurt you just because he wanted to and he could."

"Bucky said... Bucky said that if I was a woman it would have been called rape."

"And he's right. Maybe not in the 40s, I don't know how enlightened attitudes actually were back then regardless of what the letter of the law was. But nowadays? Yeah, it would. And it would have been called rape just as it was, not just if you were a woman. It was nonconsensual sex, acquired by blackmail and coercion. I don't see how it could possibly be defined as anything else, but Pepper tells me I have a limited grasp of nuance in situations like this. And I probably do. Particularly when said situations involve people hurting my friends."

Steve swallowed, smiling a little more, still hesitant, though his eyes were bright.

"So... you're not... mad?"

"I'm furious, but not with you. With him. And to be honest you're the only thing I am mad about. The rest of my fury with him has burned out because there was no point in holding onto it. It made me bitter and it sure as hell didn't change anything."

"Does that... mean you still want to date me?"

Tony blinked, wrongfooted for the first time in the conversation.

"...Yeah? I mean, some people may think that way, but I don't see that someone being raped is a good reason to break up with them?"

"Oh, okay... okay, that's good, that's fine... I mean..."

"Did you think I was going to break up with you?"

"Well... I hoped not, but I wasn't sure... I mean, I know how you feel about your dad, and... I've heard some pretty nasty things said about people who do stuff like that."

"Not by me."

"No. Not by you."

"Alright. So you don't need to be scared, alright? I'm not breaking up with you."

Steve smiled, a true, bright smile that lit up the whole room, and he squeezed Tony's hand and nodded.

"Okay."

"I'm not breaking up with you." Tony repeated, more gently this time, and he leant in for a kiss.

Steve reciprocated gladly, melting against Tony's chest with a soft sigh.

"Okay... I love you..."

"I love you too, Steve. I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to flightinflame, my writing and roleplay partner who helped develop this headcanon, and to londonsabre for being so determined they had missed something, forcing me to confront the gap in canon head on ;)


End file.
